TROPHOBLAST STARD7 EXPRESSION IN RESPONSE TO CELL INJURY

FLORES-MARTÍN, JESICA; RACCA, ANA C; RENA, VIVIANA; REYNA, LUCIANA; RIDANO, MAGALI EVELIN; CRUZ DEL PUERTO, MARIANO; PANZETTA-DUTARI, GRACIELA MARÍA; GENTI-RAIMONDI, SUSANA

Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires

Simposio; VI Latin American Symposium on Maternal-Fetal Interaction and Placenta and V Latin American Symposium on Reproductive Immunology Meeting 2015; 2015

Latin American Society for Maternal Fetal Interaction and Placenta

StarD7 encodes an intracellular lipid transport protein initially identified as an up-regulated gene in the choriocarcinoma JEG-3 cell line. So far it is unclear how changes in the placental environment affect StarD7 expression. Objectives: This work was performed to investigate StarD7 expression in trophoblast cells: a) under hypoxic-reoxygenation conditions and b) in a nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) loss- and gain-of-function studies. Methods: HTR8/SVneo cells were exposed to hypoxia for 1 h and then reoxygenated for 1, 2, or 3 h. In addition, Nrf2 loss- and gain-of-function assays were performed in JEG-3 cells by transfection with a specific siRNA or an expression vector, respectively. Western blot, immunofluorescence and qRT-PCR were used to explore protein and transcript expression. Results: StarD7 protein expression increased in response to hypoxia and reoxygenation exposure for 1, 2, or 3 h. Moreover, reoxygenation resultedin the upregulation of Nrf2 at both mRNA and protein levels, and in heme oxygenase-1 mRNA expression (encoding a phase II detoxifying enzyme). Furthermore, Nrf2 cell transfection assays increased StarD7 expression. In contrast, knocking down Nrf2 led to a diminished StarD7 transcript level indicating that these genes are positively correlated. Conclusions: These results suggest that StarD7 is a target gene of oxidative stress response. Current studies are being conducted to validate StarD7 as a useful marker of placental cell injury.